Dual compartment refrigerator with independent refrigerant liquefying means



INVENTOR/ CONSTANCE DANNENBAUM LEVEY 1TH INDEPENDEN MEANS Q. MU.,

DUAL COMPARTMENT REFR BY Jvw-A/ ATTORNEY United States Patent Office 2,721,454 Patented Oct. 25, 1955 DUAL COMPARTMENT REFRIGERATOR WITH INDEPENDENT REFRIGERANT LIQUEFYING MEANS Constance Dannenbaum Levey, New Orleans, La.

Application May 28, 1952, Serial No. 290,464

Claims. (Cl. 152-116) This invention relates to a mechanical refrigerator combination consisting essentially of the conventional type of refrigerator, one portion of which is maintained at standard refrigerating temperatures, while the door or closure element of said container carries a receptacle which is maintained at substantially lower temperatures.

The object of the invention is to provide within a single receptacle two seperate and distinctive compartments, each of which may be fully enclosed, and maintained at widely variant low temperature conditions. In this new designof refrigerator container this is achieved by assigning the refrigerator box proper to the standard temperature range for the bulk of the food required to be kept cool, viz, at freezing to six to eight degrees above said temperature value. While the accepted present day design is based upon the quick freeze section being part of the portion of the refrigerator receptacle and maintained at somewhat above zero temperature, in this new design it is proposed to assign all of the quick freeze volume to a distinctive portion of the refrigerating container which also forms the door or closure of said refrigerator. This new arrangement not only provides a more eifective partitioning of the volumetric space in this type of container, but has the significant aspect of greater accessibility and more effective arrangement of storage capacity.

Another object of this invention is to provide substantially effective means of operating these separate compartments over independently controlled temperature conditions.

By this form of construction it becomes practical to assign the box proper to the higher temperature storage, while the door or front closure may be assigned in its entirety to the quick freeze or very low temperature section, excepting in both cases the volumetric space required for the refrigerating unit or units consisting in their entirety of the compressor, condenser or cooler coils and gas storage tank, while the expansion chamber and coils may occupy the major space between the dual sidewalls, top and back. Substantially, the same design prevails with the door compartment. Further, the mechanical refrigerator arrangement described above may obviously be readily replaced or substituted by the standard absorption systems. The space assignment for standard freezing temperatures and quick freezing temperatures may be in accordance with such ratios as two to one for standard freeze to quick freeze up to a ratio of four to one for standard freeze to quick freeze.

This assembly may consist of a single refrigerating unit carried in the body of the box with separate thermostatic controls for both the standard freeze in the main box and for the quick freeze in the door compartment. The refrigerating gases or fluids will be carried to the door compartment with either suitable flexible metallic tubing, or the accepted type of swivel joints equipped with packed glands. On the other hand, complete separate self-contained units may be provided for each of these refrigerating compartments. In this case the electrical or gas or oil fluid lines would be carried to the door unit by accepted flexible conducting pipe lines.

If the upper ratio of for standard refrigeration and 20% for quick freeze or the above designated four to one ratio prevails, obviously the door compartment could readily obtain its thermodynamic energy from the larger primary refrigerating unit, while if the lower ratio of 66% of the space is assigned to the standard cooling temperatures, while 34% of the volume in the container is assigned to the deep freeze compartment or the above referred two to one ratio, then obviously, a separate selfcontained quick freeze unit would be carried in the door compartment. Further, in view of the size and depth of such a door, it may be preferable design to have the door open on its own rollers, or even a guide track above or below to carry the weight of this type of assembly.

It is further proposed to provide the inner faces of each of these compartments with transparent plastic doors made up of two sheets of plastic with a dead air space between said sheets, though it may be preferable to in many cases omit the inner door from the standard freeze compartment. These doors may be either a single door, or sectional doors which would open in a manner to make only a portion of the quick freeze compartment available for the placement or removal of the foods desired.

To further clarify the description of this device, reference is made to the ilgures on the drawing sheet which forms part of this application, and in which like numerals are used to designate like parts throughout same:

Figure 1 is a partial sectional plan of the type of refrigerator container previously described.

Figure 2 is a front partial sectional elevation of the container presented in an isometric form.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 11 in Figure 1 represents the electrical conductor cord which may be connected to a wall or iloor receptacle and which supplies the electrical energy for the operation of the motor or motors. On the other hand, it may be a flexible copper tube supplying gas or oil to the absorption type of the refrigerating unit. Numeral 12 shows a similar type of electrical conductor or flexible tubing which obtains its energy or material supply from the main body of the box to the door compartment. 13 designates the hinges which support the door in both the closed and opening positions. 14 designates the body of the main box, while 15 designates the main body of the door. 16 pertains to the grille shelves in the box proper, while 17 designates the shelves in the door. 18 shows the outer housing and insulation of the main body of the box, while 19 shows the same construction in the door. 20 indicates the position of the evaporator coils in the door compartment, while 21 shows the same type of expansion coils for the body of the box proper.

Referring to Figure l, dotted lines A-A and B-B are used to designate the sectional portions of these two compartments shown in plan. In Figure 2, C-C and D-D similarly designate the sectional areas taken in the center and coinciding with the sectional lines referred to in Figure 1, while these sectional areas in Figure 2 are shown in elevation.

In Figure 2, number 22 is used to designate the mechanical pump or compressor driven by the motor 23. On the other hand, 24 shows the cooling or condenser coils forming part of the unit in the door. The main compartment and the door each has its own refrigerationgenerating equipment and the drawing merely shows the respective halves of the equipment for simplicity. 25 shows rollers or casters when the door compartment is of such size that good engineering finds it desirable to have rollers when the door compartment approaches the weight of the body or main compartment. 26 refers to fixed feet carrying the main body compartment of the refrigerator unit.

In this assembly the usual materials of construction are contemplated and it is believed that this presentation fully describes this invention in suicient detail t'o enable anyone skilled in this art to reproduce this device to function in the manner described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a combination quick freeze refrigerator, a main body, means for connecting said body to a source of energy, a door hingedly connected to said main body, said door and body being each provided With a recessed interior to provide storage compartments, refrigeration generating means arranged in said body, and separate refrigeration generating means independent of the refrigeration-generating means of the main body carried by said door, and a plurality of horizontally disposed spaced parallel .shelves arranged in said door and main body, said door being mounted for swinging movement about a vertical axis towards and away from said body, the storage compartment in the door being maintained at a substantially lower temperature than the storage compartment in said main body.

2, The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein rollers are mounted on the bottom of the door.

3. In a combination quick freeze refrigerator, a main body, a door hingedly connected to said main body, said door and body being each provided with a recessed interior to provide storage compartments, refrigerationgenerating means arranged in said body, and separate refrigeration-generating means independent of the refrigeration-generating of the main body carried by said door,

said door being mounted for swinging movement about a vertical axis toward and away from said body, the storage compartment in the door being maintained at a substantially lower temperature than the storage compartment in said main body.

4. in a combination quick freeze refrigerator, a main body, a door hingedly connected to said body, said door and body being each provided with a recessed interior to provide storage compartments, refrigeration-generating means arranged in said body, and separate refrigeration-generating means independent of the refrigerationgenerating means of the main body carried by said door, the storage compartment in the door being maintained at a diierent temperature from the storage compartment in said main body.

5. A refrigerator comprising a main body, a door hingedly connected to said main body, said door and body being each provided with a recessed interior to provide storage compartments, a complete refrigeration-generating means arranged in said body, and a complete separate refrigeration-generating means carried by said door independent of the refrigeration-generating means of said main body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,028,046 Calatroni Jan. 14, 1936 2,199,413 Patrignani May 7, 1940 2,401,460 Charland June 4, 1946 2,401,613 Charland June 4, 1946 2,493,488 Jordan Ian. 3, 1950 

